Learn Me: Signing up with the IBEW

I am extremely dissatisfied with my current employer and I'm pretty sure that the feeling is mutual, my TPS reports have not been up to par (spot that ref?). My skills are not exactly in demand in town, particularly since I don't have a degree and I don't hang out at the right country clubs to get in with Lockheed. This is not a new thing but I think that it is coming to a head and I need to find a new way to pay the bills. I've tossed around a bunch of ideas and joining up with the IBEW as an apprentice sounds very not bad. 606 would be my local union, heavily weighted towards slaving for the Mouse. I have a background as an electronics technician, military trained, and a solid understanding of electricty that skews towards DC. Travel is not something that ranks highly on my list of "Wants". I can make it through the 1st year apprentice wages, a 50% pay cut from where I am now but I hopefully won't work for a miserable so and so who has me wanting to go in today and leave my resignation on his desk as a back from vacation surprise. Looking around the internet I am seeing that negotiated wages for the Orlando are are not great for anyone that actually has to live in Orlando but I don't want to make decisions based on noise or a partial understanding. So, naturally, I am turning to the wealth of collective knowledge and wisdom that is GRM to ask what I need to know.

I'm approaching this with eyes open but where should I be looking to have a full view? What questions should I be asking? Would there be any not so obvious reason that I should go up the road to Tampa, for example?

How old are you?  I was in my early 30's when the Sprinkler Fitter Union in Chicago called me up but I couldn't swing the wages.  In the end sales was really my game.

33 (this year) with a kid. 1st year wages would be rough but I can't stay where I am, very much a mismatch. Counting on selling PTO to help with the first year and the increases after that to get by. Emphasis on get by, I have no illusions of this being anything other than subsistence labor in Florida but I can't stay where I am without some kind of prescription concoction. Best case, finish the apprenticeship and start looking at relocation options. 

Make it work - you're young - eat ramen if needed.  Are you truly an electrician?  Love to do it all day?

My problem was that I'm a sales guy - talking and selling all day.  I'm not the guy to hang pipe 40 hours a week or I'd be drinking a liquid lunch everyday. (Well, that's another problem)

My buddy was an apprentice electrician. 
 

He spent long hours digging trenches in pea gravel, in Wisconsin, in winter. He was working for a large company that mainly did  industrial and commercial jobs. 
 

After a year he looked back and most of what he learned was how to work a shovel.
 

This was around five years ago. And 2000 miles away, But I think a lot depends on who you work for. 

In reply to Error404 :

I’ll second Datsun310guy.  Find a way to make it work.  With your technical background you should be well suited to the work.

I was a first year apprentice at 26, still single at the time and so able to move back in with the parents which helped with the massive pay cut.  I paid them room and board, did all the yard work and slammed every extra dollar from overtime and rate increases into the bank.  It was a bit of a monk like existence but by the end of my 4 year apprenticeship I’d saved enough for a down payment on a house (and met my wife) and we haven’t looked back.  I rationalized it at the time not wanting to be 10 years further down the road kicking myself for not taking the opportunity. It’s ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve made.

The pension and healthcare benefits are another consideration, these will vary with location and individual agreements but are typically far more generous than those offered in the corporate world. Make it happen! 

In reply to Datsun310Guy :

Love to do it all day? I can't say that I've ever seen a job that I really want to do for the sake of it, a job is a means to paycheck and nothing more in my eyes. I've also been down the liquid dinner path from, most recently, current job. Steering well clear of those haunted woods.

Got our house at a steal, or I wouldn't be able to afford to even think about any of this. I already eat ramen 5+ lunches a week, the grocery bill isn't really for me. Got the monk thing down, though I've been feeling more like a cranky, crotchety hermit lately. I do appreciate the votes of confidence, that's how I'm reading all this and you can't stop me(!). We talked a lot about it today and the end result was that, even as a journeyman, we won't be able to afford to move and keep the little softhead close to family and if we don't move to somewhere cheaper... I suppose the best thing to do is do the best I can in the here and now, full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes.

How about a gig in industrial machinery maintenance and repair?  Either maintenance position with a production plant or service tech for a machinery maker.  The first will limit the travel requirements.  The second will, depending on the manufacturer and territory, have more time away from home.  Here in Detroit plants are looking for technicians all the time.

My dad was an IBEW member for a little over 30 years while working as an electrician at Ford, and he could have picked up a bunch of work on the side if he wanted, though he could pretty well get as many hours of overtime at Ford as he wanted. He always encouraged people to get into the trade and it provided a very comfortable life for us. Even though he passed away almost 20 years ago, the union still goes above and beyond to help my mom out whenever she has any questions or problems with benefits and stuff.  If this is something you really want to do, I think it's a great choice.

I can't speak to the union side of things but a career as an electrician can support a family. I started as an apprentice at 26 with a young child and no real knowledge of the field, I was able to get my license in two years back then so that helped. Right now most trades are having a hard time getting apprentices so demand is going to exceed supply for quite a while thus leading to decent pay. There are so many different types of electrical work out there, start anywhere and keep your eyes and ears open for new opportunities that interest you. I started off at a small residential shop, moved to a bigger commercial leaning company and now work in a small energy conservation based company installing some of the latest technology in electrical systems, been there almost 15 years. If you like working with your hands and brain you will find it is rewarding work. Travel is a reality in some areas depending on where the work is, but if it is short term and is a means to an end suck it up to get your ticket and then find a place you can stay local. Once you get your journeyman's license, you have a lot of options. Another way to look at it is, if you don't start now, where will you be in 5 years? If you do start now, you may be a licensed electrician in 5 years. Good luck, go for it.

Friend of mine is an IBEW member here in Atlanta. All I know is he's always got steady work. When they put him on a job he has to take it or else he goes to the back of the job line. Sometimes the work sucks (like overnight wiring a stadium) but it is steady work. No idea the pay. Didn't seem like a bad gig.

I was about your age when I went to work as an apprentice plumber.  It was for a national company that pretty much put you in a van and threw you out there.  For the most part I was self taught, but being a car guy, plumbing was easy.  Served my apprenticeship.  Did my school hours.  Passed my jouneyman and master's tests first try.  Best career move I ever made.  I love what I do, and in all honesty, I get overpaid for it.  Pay rates for plumbers and electricians are crazy compared to what hourly workers get.  The best part about being on my own is the freedom it offers.  I was able to hit every one of my kids events as they grew.  I have friends in the trade unions, and they don't have the same level of freedom.  They do get a pretty good retirement fund thou.  The extra money at the end just isn't worth the loss of life experiences to me.  See if you can't land on with a local electrical company.  Highlight the fact that you are good with controls.  The guys that troubleshoot boiler controls and such are in extremely high demand and command huge salaries.  The best part about my job is that people are really happy to see me when I get there.  I don't really get it.  I show up, fix something, charge a bunch of money, and they treat me like a god.  Take your broken car to a mechanic and he charges a bunch of money, you curse the guy.  

I went into an apprenticeship at 38. First couple years were rough financially but now I am doing well.

IBEW in FL seems like a good door to open up and look around. Your previous training may also suit you to work in lighting controls or HVAC controls.

Jump and the net will appear.. hopefully.